Soybean variety DLL1344

ABSTRACT

The soybean variety DLL1344 is disclosed. The invention relates to seeds, plants, plant cells, plant tissue, harvested products and soybean lint as well as to hybrid soybean plants and seeds obtained by repeatedly crossing plants of variety DLL1344 with other plants. The invention also relates to plants and varieties produced by the method of essential derivation from plants of DLL1344 and to plants of DLL1344 reproduced by vegetative methods, including but not limited to tissue culture of regenerable cells or tissue from DLL1344.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of plant breeding. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a variety of soybean designatedas DLL1344, its essentially derived varieties and the hybrid varietiesobtained by crossing DLL1344 as a parent line with plants of othervarieties or parent lines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Soybean, Glycine max (L), is an important and valuable field crop. Thus,a continuing goal of soybean plant breeders is to develop stable, highyielding soybean varieties that are agronomically sound. The reasons forthis goal are obviously to maximize the amount of grain produced on theland used and to supply food for both animals and humans. To accomplishthis goal, the soybean breeder must select and develop soybean plantsthat have traits that result in superior varieties.

Due to the environment, the complexity of the structure of genes andlocation of a gene in the genome, among other factors, it is difficultto predict the phenotypic expression of a particular genotype. Inaddition, a plant breeder may only apply his skills on the phenotype andnot, or in a very limited way, on the level of the genotype. As aresult, a particular plant breeder cannot breed the same variety twiceusing the same parents and the same methodology. Thus, a newly bredvariety is an unexpected result of the breeding process. Indeed, eachvariety contains a unique combination of characteristics.

By carefully choosing the breeding parents, the breeding and selectionmethods, the testing layout and testing locations, the breeder may breeda particular variety type. In addition, a new variety may be tested inspecial comparative trials with other existing varieties in order todetermine whether the new variety meets the required expectations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described inconjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to beexemplary, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more ofthe above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated, whileother embodiments are directed to other improvements.

According to the invention, there is provided a new soybean varietydesignated DLL1344. This invention thus relates to the seeds of soybeanvariety DLL1344, to the plants of soybean variety DLL1344 and to methodsfor producing a soybean plant produced by crossing soybean varietyDLL1344 with itself or another soybean variety, and the creation ofvariants by mutagenesis or transformation of soybean variety DLL1344.

Thus, any such methods using the soybean variety DLL1344 are part ofthis invention: selfing, backcrosses, hybrid production, crosses topopulations, and the like. All plants produced using soybean varietyDLL1344 as at least one parent are within the scope of this invention.Advantageously, this soybean variety could be used in crosses withother, different, soybean plants to produce first generation (F₁)soybean hybrid seeds and plants with superior characteristics.

In another aspect, the present invention provides for single or multiplegene converted plants of soybean variety DLL1344. The transferredgene(s) may preferably be a dominant or recessive allele. Preferably,the transferred gene(s) will confer such traits as herbicide resistance,insect resistance, resistance for bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,male fertility, male sterility, enhanced nutritional quality, andindustrial usage. The gene may be a naturally occurring soybean gene ora transgene introduced through genetic engineering techniques.

In another aspect, the present invention provides regenerable cells foruse in tissue culture of soybean plant DLL1344. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the foregoing soybeanplant, and of regenerating plants having substantially the same genotypeas the foregoing soybean plant. Preferably, the regenerable cells insuch tissue cultures will be embryos, protoplasts, meristematic cells,callus, pollen, leaves, anthers, cotyledons, hypocotyl, pistils, roots,root tips, flowers, seeds, petiole, pods or stems. Still further, thepresent invention provides soybean plants regenerated from the tissuecultures of the invention.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by study of thefollowing descriptions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to soybean variety DLL1344. The varietyhas shown uniformity and stability, as described in the followingvariety description information. It has been self-pollinated asufficient number of generations with careful attention to uniformity ofplant type. The line has been increased with continued observation foruniformity.

Soybean variety DLL1344 contains a transgene of event LL55, whichconfers resistance to LIBERTY® (active ingredient glufosinate-ammonium)herbicide. Soybean variety DLL1344 was derived from a cross of an LL55donor parent and a proprietary soybean line.

Soybean variety DLL1344 has the following morphologic and othercharacteristics:

TABLE 1 PARAMETER VALUE Average Yield 58.9 (bushels per acre) Percentageof check variety 106.6 Average days to maturity 287 flower color whiteplant habit determinate pubescence color tawny pod color tawny plantheight (inches) 34 lodging resistance 1 hilum color light brownphythoptera root rot susceptible to race 1 sudden death syndrome stemcanker (2011) resistant stem canker (2012) resistant frogeye leaf spot2.5 Soybean cyst nematode resistance at susceptible reproductive stageR3 Soybean cyst nematode resistance at reproductive stage R5 Soybeancyst nematode reproduction of 7 females on indicator lines* SCN sourcePEKING root knot nematode resistance Salt slight chlorosis *Soybeanindicator lines: 0 = no reproduction over 100% of the indicator lines 1= reproduction on Peking 2 = reproduction on PI88788 3 = reproduction onPI90763 4 = reproduction on PI437654 5 = reproduction on PI209332 6 =reproduction on PI89772 7 = reproduction on Cloud

This invention is also directed to methods for producing a soybean plantby crossing a first parent soybean plant with a second parent soybeanplant, wherein the first or second soybean plant is the soybean plantfrom soybean variety DLL1344. Further, both first and second parentsoybean plants may be from soybean variety DLL1344. Therefore, anymethods using soybean variety DLL1344 are part of this invention:selfing, backcrosses, hybrid breeding, and crosses to populations. Anyplants produced using soybean variety DLL1344 as at least one parent arewithin the scope of this invention.

Additional methods include but are not limited to expression vectorsintroduced into plant tissues using a direct gene transfer method suchas microprojectile-mediated delivery, DNA injection, electroporation andthe like. More preferably expression vectors are introduced into planttissues by using either microprojectile-mediated delivery with abiolistic device or by using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.Transformant plants obtained with the protoplasm of the invention areintended to be within the scope of this invention.

With the advent of molecular biological techniques that have allowed theisolation and characterization of genes that encode specific proteinproducts, scientists in the field of plant biology developed a stronginterest in engineering the genome of plants to contain and expressforeign genes, or additional, or modified versions of native, orendogenous, genes (perhaps driven by different promoters) in order toalter the traits of a plant in a specific manner. Such foreignadditional and/or modified genes are referred to herein collectively as“transgenes”. Over the last twenty years several methods for producingtransgenic plants have been developed and the present invention, inparticular embodiments, also relates to transformed versions of theclaimed variety or line.

Plant transformation involves the construction of an expression vectorwhich will function in plant cells. Such a vector comprises DNAcomprising a gene under the control of, or operatively linked to, aregulatory element (for example, a promoter). The expression vector maycontain one or more such operably linked gene/regulatory elementcombinations. The vector(s) may be in the form of a plasmid and can beused alone or in combination with other plasmids to provide transformedsoybean plants using transformation methods as described below toincorporate transgenes into the genetic material of the soybeanplant(s).

Expression Vectors for Soybean Transformation: Marker Genes

Expression vectors include at least one genetic marker operably linkedto a regulatory element (a promoter, for example) that allowstransformed cells containing the marker to be either recovered bynegative selection, i.e., inhibiting growth of cells that do not containthe selectable marker gene, or by positive selection, i.e., screeningfor the product encoded by the genetic marker. Many commonly usedselectable marker genes for plant transformation are well known in thetransformation arts, and include, for example, genes that code forenzymes that metabolically detoxify a selective chemical agent which maybe an antibiotic or an herbicide, or genes that encode an altered targetwhich is insensitive to the inhibitor. A few positive selection methodsare also known in the art.

One commonly used selectable marker gene for plant transformation is theneomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene which, when under thecontrol of plant regulatory signals, confers resistance to kanamycin.Fraley et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 80:4803 (1983). Anothercommonly used selectable marker gene is the hygromycinphosphotransferase gene which confers resistance to the antibiotichygromycin. Vanden Elzen et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 5:299 (1985).

Additional selectable marker genes of bacterial origin that conferresistance to antibiotics include gentamycin acetyl transferase,streptomycin phosphotransferase and aminoglycoside-3′-adenyltransferase, the bleomycin resistance determinant (Hayford et al., PlantPhysiol. 86:1216 (1988), Jones et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 210:86 (1987),Svab et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 14:197 (1990), Hille et al., Plant Mol.Biol. 7:171 (1986)). Other selectable marker genes confer resistance toherbicides such as glyphosate, glufosinate, bromoxynil, or HPPDinhibitors (Comai et al., Nature 317:741-744 (1985); Gordon-Kamm et al.,Plant Cell 2:603-618 (1990); Stalker et al., Science 242:419-423 (1988);and U.S Patent Publication 20120311743).

Selectable marker genes for plant transformation not of bacterial origininclude, for example, mouse dihydrofolate reductase, plant5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase and plant acetolactatesynthase (Eichholtz et al., Somatic Cell Mol. Genet. 13:67 (1987), Shahet al., Science 233:478 (1986), Charest et al., Plant Cell Rep. 8:643(1990)).

Another class of marker genes for plant transformation requiresscreening of presumptively transformed plant cells rather than directgenetic selection of transformed cells for resistance to a toxicsubstance such as an antibiotic. These genes are particularly useful toquantify or visualize the spatial pattern of expression of a gene inspecific tissues and are frequently referred to as reporter genesbecause they can be fused to a gene or gene regulatory sequence for theinvestigation of gene expression. Commonly used genes for screeningpresumptively transformed cells include β-glucuronidase (GUS),β-galactosidase, luciferase and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase(Jefferson, R. A., Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387 (1987), Teeri et al.,EMBO J. 8:343 (1989), Koncz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:131(1987), DeBlock et al., EMBO J. 3:1681 (1984)).

Further, a gene encoding Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) can be utilizedas a marker for gene expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells(Chalfie et al., Science 263:802 (1994)). GFP and mutants of GFP may beused as screenable markers.

Expression Vectors for Soybean Transformation: Promoters

Genes included in expression vectors must be driven by a nucleotidesequence comprising a regulatory element, for example, a promoter.Several types of promoters are well known in the transformation arts asare other regulatory elements that can be used alone or in combinationwith promoters.

As used herein, “promoter” includes reference to a region of DNAupstream from the start of transcription and involved in recognition andbinding of RNA polymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription.A “plant promoter” is a promoter capable of initiating transcription inplant cells. Examples of promoters under developmental control includepromoters that preferentially initiate transcription in certain tissues,such as leaves, roots, seeds, fibers, xylem vessels, tracheids, orsclerenchyma. Such promoters are referred to as “tissue-preferred”.Promoters that initiate transcription only in a certain tissue arereferred to as “tissue-specific”. A “cell-type” specific promoterprimarily drives expression in certain cell types in one or more organs,for example, vascular cells in roots or leaves. An “inducible” promoteris a promoter which is under environmental control. Examples ofenvironmental conditions that may effect transcription by induciblepromoters include anaerobic conditions or the presence of light.Tissue-specific, tissue-preferred, cell type specific, and induciblepromoters constitute the class of “non-constitutive” promoters. A“constitutive” promoter is a promoter that is active under mostenvironmental conditions.

A. Inducible Promoters—An inducible promoter is operably linked to agene for expression in soybean. Optionally, the inducible promoter isoperably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequencewhich is operably linked to a gene for expression in soybean. With aninducible promoter the rate of transcription increases in response to aninducing agent.

Any inducible promoter can be used in the instant invention. See Ward etal., Plant Mol. Biol. 22:361-366 (1993). Exemplary inducible promotersinclude, but are not limited to, that from the ACEI system whichresponds to copper (Mett et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.90:4567-4571 (1993)); In2 gene from maize which responds tobenzenesulfonamide herbicide safeners (Hershey et al., Mol. Gen.Genetics 227:229-237 (1991) and Gatz et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics243:32-38 (1994)) or Tet repressor from Tn10 (Gatz et al., Mol. Gen.Genetics 227:229-237 (1991)). A particularly preferred induciblepromoter is a promoter that responds to an inducing agent to whichplants do not normally respond. An exemplary inducible promoter is theinducible promoter from a steroid hormone gene, the transcriptionalactivity of which is induced by a glucocorticosteroid hormone (Schena etal., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:0421 (1991)).

B. Constitutive Promoters—A constitutive promoter is operably linked toa gene for expression in soybean or the constitutive promoter isoperably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequencewhich is operably linked to a gene for expression in soybean.

Many different constitutive promoters can be utilized in the instantinvention. Exemplary constitutive promoters include, but are not limitedto, the promoters from plant viruses such as the 35S promoter from CaMV(Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812 (1985)) and the promoters from suchgenes as rice actin (McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2: 163-171 (1990));ubiquitin (Christensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 12:619-632 (1989) andChristensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18:675-689 (1992)); pEMU (Last etal., Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:581-588 (1991)); MAS (Velten et al., EMBO J.3:2723-2730 (1984)) and maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al., Mol. Gen.Genetics 231:276-285 (1992) and Atanassova et al., Plant Journal 2 (3):291-300 (1992)). The ALS promoter, Xba1/NcoI fragment 5′ to the Brassicanapus ALS3 structural gene (or a nucleotide sequence similarity to saidXba1/NcoI fragment), represents a particularly useful constitutivepromoter. See PCT application WO 96/30530.

C. Tissue-specific or Tissue-preferred Promoters—A tissue-specificpromoter is operably linked to a gene for expression in soybean.Optionally, the tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to anucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linkedto a gene for expression in soybean. Plants transformed with a gene ofinterest operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter produce theprotein product of the transgene exclusively, or preferentially, in aspecific tissue.

Any tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoter can be utilized in theinstant invention. Exemplary tissue-specific or tissue-preferredpromoters include, but are not limited to, a root-preferred promotersuch as that from the phaseolin gene (Murai et al., Science 23:476-482(1983) and Sengupta-Gopalan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA82:3320-3324 (1985)); a leaf-specific and light-induced promoter such asthat from cab or rubisco (Simpson et al., EMBO J. 4(11):2723-2729 (1985)and Timko et al., Nature 318:579-582 (1985)); an anther-specificpromoter such as that from LAT52 (Twell et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics217:240-245 (1989)); a pollen-specific promoter such as that from Zm13(Guerrero et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 244:161-168 (1993)) or amicrospore-preferred promoter such as that from apg (Twell et al., Sex.Plant Reprod. 6:217-224 (1993)).

Signal Sequences for Targeting Proteins to Subcellular Compartments

Transport of protein produced by transgenes to a subcellular compartmentsuch as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome, cell wall ormitochondrion or for secretion into the apoplast, is accomplished bymeans of operably linking the nucleotide sequence encoding a signalsequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of a gene encoding the protein ofinterest. Targeting sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the structuralgene may determine during protein synthesis and processing where theencoded protein is ultimately compartmentalized.

The presence of a signal sequence directs a polypeptide to either anintracellular organelle or subcellular compartment or for secretion tothe apoplast. Many signal sequences are known in the art. See, forexample, Becker et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:49 (1992); Close, P. S.,Master's Thesis, Iowa State University (1993); Knox, C., et al., PlantMol. Biol. 9:3-17 (1987); Lerner et al., Plant Physiol. 91:124-129(1989); Frontes et al., Plant Cell 3:483-496 (1991); Matsuoka et al.,Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:834 (1991); Gould et al., J. Cell. Biol.108:1657 (1989); Creissen et al., Plant J. 2:129 (1991); Kalderon, etal., Cell 39:499-509 (1984); Steifel, et al., Plant Cell 2:785-793(1990).

Foreign Protein Genes and Agronomic Genes

With transgenic plants according to the present invention, a foreignprotein can be produced in commercial quantities. Thus, techniques forthe selection and propagation of transformed plants, which are wellunderstood in the art, yield a plurality of transgenic plants which areharvested in a conventional manner, and a foreign protein then can beextracted from a tissue of interest or from total biomass. Proteinextraction from plant biomass can be accomplished by known methods whichare discussed, for example, by Heney and Orr, Anal. Biochem. 114:92-6(1981).

According to a preferred embodiment, the transgenic plant provided forcommercial production of foreign protein is a soybean plant. In anotherpreferred embodiment, the biomass of interest is seed. For therelatively small number of transgenic plants that show higher levels ofexpression, a genetic map can be generated, primarily via conventionalRFLP, PCR and SSR analysis, which identifies the approximate chromosomallocation of the integrated DNA molecule. For exemplary methodologies inthis regard, see Glick and Thompson, Methods in Plant Molecular Biologyand Biotechnology, CRC Press, Boca Raton 269:284 (1993). Map informationconcerning chromosomal location is useful for proprietary protection ofa subject transgenic plant. If unauthorized propagation is undertakenand crosses made with other germplasm, the map of the integration regioncan be compared to similar maps for suspect plants, to determine if thelatter have a common parentage with the subject plant. Map comparisonswould involve hybridizations, RFLP, PCR, SSR and sequencing, all ofwhich are conventional techniques.

Likewise, by means of the present invention, agronomic genes can beexpressed in transformed plants. More particularly, plants can begenetically engineered to express various phenotypes of agronomicinterest. In various embodiments, the soybean plant of the inventionfurther comprises one or more additional genes for insect resistance(e.g., Cry1, such as members of the Cry1A, Cry1B, Cry1C, Cry1D, Cry1E,and Cry1F families; Cry2, such as members of the Cry2A family; Cry9,such as members of the Cry9A, Cry9B, Cry9C, Cry9D, Cry9E, and Cry9Ffamilies, through the Cry72 families; etc., or any of the toxins listedon Crickmore et al. (2003) “Bacillus thuringiensis toxin nomenclature,”at www.biols.susx.ac.uk/Home/Neil_Crickmore/Bt/index). It will beunderstood by one of skill in the art that the transgenic plant maycomprise any gene imparting an agronomic trait of interest. Additionalgenes implicated in this regard include, but are not limited to, thosereferenced in the patent publications listed in Table 2, each of whichis incorporated by reference in its entirety:

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2010/102172 WO 2010/106163WO2011/082217 WO2011/003783 Reduced pod dehiscence WO 2006/009649 WO2004/113542 WO 1999/015680 WO 1999/000502 WO 1997/013865 WO 1996/030529WO 1994/023043 Aphid resistance WO 2006/125065 WO 1997/046080 WO2008/067043 WO 2004/072109 WO2009/091860 WO2010036764 Sclerotiniaresistance WO 2006/135717 WO 2006/055851 WO 2005/090578 WO 2005/000007WO 2002/099385 WO 2002/061043 Bremia resistance US 20070022496 WO2000/063432 WO 2004/049786 WO2009/111627 WO2009/111627 Erwiniaresistance WO 2004/049786 Closterovirus resistance WO 2007/073167 WO2007/053015 WO 2002/022836 Stress tolerance (including WO 2010/019838drought tolerance) WO 2009/049110 WO2008/002480 WO2005/033318WO2008/002480 WO2008/005210 WO2008/006033 WO2008/008779 WO2008/022486WO2008/025097 WO2008/027534 WO2008/027540 WO2008/037902 WO2008/046069WO2008/053487 WO2008/057642 WO2008/061240 WO2008/064222 WO2008/064341WO2008/073617 WO2008/074025 WO2008/076844 WO2008/096138 WO2008/110848WO2008/116829 WO2008/117537 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Additional agronomic traits of interest include the following:

1. Genes that Confer Resistance to Pests or Disease and that Encode:

A. Plant disease resistance genes. Plant defenses are often activated byspecific interaction between the product of a disease resistance gene(R) in the plant and the product of a corresponding avirulence (Avr)gene in the pathogen. A plant variety can be transformed with one ormore cloned resistance genes to engineer plants that are resistant tospecific pathogen strains. See, for example Jones et al., Science266:789 (1994) (cloning of the tomato Cf-9 gene for resistance toCladosporium fulvum); Martin et al., Science 262:1432 (1993) (tomato Ptogene for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato encodes a proteinkinase); Mindrinos et al. Cell 78:1089 (1994) (Arabidopsis RSP2 gene forresistance to Pseudomonas syringae).

B. A gene conferring resistance to a pest, such as soybean cystnematode. See e.g., PCT Application WO 96/30517; PCT Application WO93/19181.

C. A Bacillus thuringiensis protein, a derivative thereof or a syntheticpolypeptide modeled thereon. See, for example, Geiser et al., Gene48:109 (1986), who disclose the cloning and nucleotide sequence of a Bt.delta.-endotoxin gene. Moreover, DNA molecules encoding.delta.-endotoxin genes can be purchased from American Type CultureCollection, Manassas, Va., for example, under ATCC Accession Nos. 40098,67136, 31995 and 31998.

D. A lectin. See, for example, Van Damme et al., Plant Molec. Biol.24:25 (1994), who disclose the nucleotide sequences of several Cliviaminiata mannose-binding lectin genes.

E. A vitamin-binding protein such as avidin. See PCT application US93/06487 which teaches the use of avidin and avidin homologues aslarvicides against insect pests.

F. An enzyme inhibitor, for example, a protease or proteinase inhibitoror an amylase inhibitor. See, for example, Abe et al., J. Biol. Chem.262:16793 (1987) (nucleotide sequence of rice cysteine proteinaseinhibitor), Huub et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:985 (1993) (nucleotidesequence of cDNA encoding tobacco proteinase inhibitor I), Sumitani etal., Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 57:1243 (1993) (nucleotide sequence ofStreptomyces nitrosporeus .alpha.-amylase inhibitor) and U.S. Pat. No.5,494,813 (Hepher and Atkinson, issued Feb. 27, 1996).

G. An insect-specific hormone or pheromone such as an ecdysteroid orjuvenile hormone, a variant thereof, a mimetic based thereon, or anantagonist or agonist thereof. See, for example, the disclosure byHammock et al., Nature 344:458 (1990), of baculovirus expression ofcloned juvenile hormone esterase, an inactivator of juvenile hormone.

H. An insect-specific peptide or neuropeptide which, upon expression,disrupts the physiology of the affected pest. For example, see thedisclosures of Regan, J. Biol. Chem. 269:9 (1994) (expression cloningyields DNA coding for insect diuretic hormone receptor), and Pratt etal., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1243 (1989) (an allostatin isidentified in Diploptera puntata). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,317 toTomalski et al., which discloses genes encoding insect-specific,paralytic neurotoxins.

I. An insect-specific venom produced in nature by a snake, a wasp, etc.For example, see Pang et al., Gene 116:165 (1992), for disclosure ofheterologous expression in plants of a gene coding for a scorpioninsectotoxic peptide.

J. An enzyme responsible for a hyperaccumulation of a monoterpene, asesquiterpene, a steroid, hydroxamic acid, a phenylpropanoid derivativeor another non-protein molecule with insecticidal activity.

K. An enzyme involved in the modification, including thepost-translational modification, of a biologically active molecule; forexample, a glycolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme,a nuclease, a cyclase, a transaminase, an esterase, a hydrolase, aphosphatase, a kinase, a phosphorylase, a polymerase, an elastase, achitinase and a glucanase, whether natural or synthetic. See PCTapplication WO 93/02197 (Scott et al.), which discloses the nucleotidesequence of a callase gene. DNA molecules which containchitinase-encoding sequences can be obtained, for example, from the ATCCunder Accession Nos. 39637 and 67152. See also Kramer et al., InsectBiochem. Molec. Biol. 23:691 (1993), who teach the nucleotide sequenceof a cDNA encoding tobacco hornworm chitinase, and Kawalleck et al.,Plant Molec. Biol. 21:673 (1993), who provide the nucleotide sequence ofthe parsley ubi4-2 polyubiquitin gene.

L. A molecule that stimulates signal transduction. For example, see thedisclosure by Botella et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 24:757 (1994), ofnucleotide sequences for mung bean calmodulin cDNA clones, and Griess etal., Plant Physiol. 104:1467 (1994), who provide the nucleotide sequenceof a maize calmodulin cDNA clone.

M. A hydrophobic moment peptide. See PCT application WO 95/16776, whichdiscloses peptide derivatives of tachyplesin which inhibit fungal plantpathogens, and PCT application WO 95/18855 which teaches syntheticantimicrobial peptides that confer disease resistance.

N. A membrane permease, a channel former or a channel blocker. Forexample, see the disclosure of Jaynes et al., Plant Sci 89:43 (1993), ofheterologous expression of a cecropin-.beta. lytic peptide analog torender transgenic tobacco plants resistant to Pseudomonas solanacearum.

O. A viral-invasive protein or a complex toxin derived therefrom. Forexample, the accumulation of viral coat proteins in transformed plantcells imparts resistance to viral infection and/or disease developmenteffected by the virus from which the coat protein gene is derived, aswell as by related viruses. See Beachy et al., Ann. Rev. Phytopathol.28:451 (1990). Coat protein-mediated resistance has been conferred upontransformed plants against alfalfa mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virusand tobacco mosaic virus.

P. An insect-specific antibody or an immunotoxin derived therefrom.Thus, an antibody targeted to a critical metabolic function in theinsect gut would inactivate an affected enzyme, killing the insect. SeeTaylor et al., Abstract #497, Seventh Int'l Symposium on MolecularPlant-Microbe Interactions (Edinburgh, Scotland) (1994) (enzymaticinactivation in transgenic tobacco via production of single-chainantibody fragments).

Q. A virus-specific antibody. See, for example, Tavladoraki et al.,Nature 366:469 (1993), who show that transgenic plants expressingrecombinant antibody genes are protected from virus attack.

R. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a pathogen ora parasite. Thus, fungal endo-.alpha.-1,4-D-polygalacturonasesfacilitate fungal colonization and plant nutrient release bysolubilizing plant cell wall homo-.alpha.-1,4-D-galacturonase. See Lambet al., Bio/Technology 10:1436 (1992). The cloning and characterizationof a gene which encodes a bean endopolygalacturonase-inhibiting proteinis described by Toubart et al., Plant J. 2:367 (1992).

S. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a plant. Forexample, Logemann et al., Bio/Technology 10:305 (1992), have shown thattransgenic plants expressing the barley ribosome-inactivating gene havean increased resistance to fungal disease.

T. Genes involved in the Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) Responseand/or the pathogenesis-related genes. Briggs, S., Current Biology, 5(2) (1995).

U. Antifungal genes. See Cornelissen and Melchers, Plant Physiol.,101:709-712 (1993); Parijs et al., Planta 183:258-264 (1991) andBushnell et al., Can. J. of Plant Path. 20(2):137-149 (1998).

V. Genes that confer resistance to Phytophthora root rot, such as theRps 1, Rps 1-a, Rps 1-b, Rps 1-c, Rps 1-d, Rps 1-e, Rps 1-k, Rps 2, Rps3-a, Rps 3-b, Rps 3-c, Rps 4, Rps 5, Rps 6, Rps 7 and other Rps genes.See, for example, Shoemaker et al., Phytophthora Root Rot ResistanceGene Mapping in Soybean, Plant Genome IV Conference, San Diego, Calif.(1995).

2. Genes that Confer Resistance to an Herbicide, for Example:

A. An herbicide that inhibits the growing point or meristem, such as animidazolinone or a sulfonylurea. Exemplary genes in this category codefor mutant ALS and AHAS enzyme as described, for example, by Lee et al.,EMBO J. 7:1241 (1988), and Miki et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 80:449(1990), respectively.

B. Glyphosate (resistance conferred by mutant5-enolpyruvlshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) and aroA genes,respectively) and other phosphono compounds such as glufosinate(phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT) and Streptomyceshygroscopicus PAT bar genes), and pyridinoxy or phenoxy proprionic acidsand cyclohexones (ACCase inhibitor-encoding genes). See, for example,U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,835 to Shah, et al., which discloses the nucleotidesequence of a form of EPSPS which can confer glyphosate resistance. ADNA molecule encoding a mutant aroA gene can be obtained under ATCCaccession number 39256, and the nucleotide sequence of the mutant geneis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,061 to Comai. European patentapplication No. 0 333 033 to Kumada et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,374to Goodman et al., disclose nucleotide sequences of glutamine synthetasegenes which confer resistance to herbicides such as L-phosphinothricin.The nucleotide sequence of a PAT gene is provided in Europeanapplication No. 0 242 246 to Leemans et al. DeGreef et al.,Bio/Technology 7:61 (1989) describe the production of transgenic plantsthat express chimeric bar genes coding for phosphinothricin acetyltransferase activity. Exemplary of genes conferring resistance tophenoxy proprionic acids and cyclohexones, such as sethoxydim andhaloxyfop are the Acc1-S1, Acc1-S2, and Acc2-S3 genes described byMarshall et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 83:435 (1992).

C. An herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis, such as a triazine (psbAand gs+genes) or a benzonitrile (nitrilase gene). Przibila et al., PlantCell 3:169 (1991), describe the transformation of Chlamydomonas withplasmids encoding mutant psbA genes. Nucleotide sequences for nitrilasegenes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,648 to Stalker and DNAmolecules containing these genes are available under ATCC Accession Nos.53435, 67441 and 67442. Cloning and expression of DNA coding for aglutathione S-transferase is described by Hayes et al., Biochem. J.285:173 (1992).

D. Acetohydroxy acid synthase, which has been found to make plants thatexpress this enzyme resistant to multiple types of herbicides, has beenintroduced into a variety of plants. See Hattori et al., Mol. Gen.Genet. 246:419, 1995. Other genes that confer tolerance to herbicidesinclude a gene encoding a chimeric protein of rat cytochrome P4507A1 andyeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (Shiota et al., PlantPhysiol., 106:17, 1994), genes for glutathione reductase and superoxidedismutase (Aono et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 36:1687, 1995), and genesfor various phosphotransferases (Datta et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:619,1992).

E. Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (protox) is necessary for the productionof chlorophyll, which is necessary for all plant survival. The protoxenzyme serves as the target for a variety of herbicidal compounds. Theseherbicides also inhibit growth of all the different species of plantspresent, causing their total destruction. The development of plantscontaining altered protox activity which are resistant to theseherbicides are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,288,306; 6,282,837;5,767,373; and international publication WO 01/12825.

F. Genes that confer resistance to HPPD inhibitors, such as anN-(tetrazol-4-yl)- or N-(triazol-3-yl)arylcarboxamide, anN-(1,2,5-oxadiazol-3-yl)benzamide, tembotrione, sulcotrione,topramezone, bicyclopyrone, tefuryltrione, isoxaflutole, pyrasulfotole,and mesotrione.

3. Genes that Confer or Contribute to a Value-Added Trait, Such as:

A. Modified fatty acid metabolism, for example, by transforming a plantwith an antisense gene of stearyl-ACP desaturase to increase stearicacid content of the plant. See Knultzon et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 89:2625 (1992).

B. Decreased phytate content-1) Introduction of a phytase-encoding geneenhances breakdown of phytate, adding more free phosphate to thetransformed plant. For example, see Van Hartingsveldt et al., Gene127:87 (1993), for a disclosure of the nucleotide sequence of anAspergillus niger phytase gene. 2) A gene could be introduced thatreduced phytate content. This could be accomplished by cloning and thenreintroducing DNA associated with the single allele which is responsiblefor maize mutants characterized by low levels of phytic acid. See Raboyet al., Maydica 35:383 (1990).

C. Modified carbohydrate composition effected, for example, bytransforming plants with a gene coding for an enzyme that alters thebranching pattern of starch. See Shiroza et al., J. Bacteriol. 170:810(1988) (nucleotide sequence of Streptococcus mutantsfructosyltransferase gene), Steinmetz et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 20:220(1985) (nucleotide sequence of Bacillus subtilis levansucrase gene), Penet al., Bio/Technology 10:292 (1992) (production of transgenic plantsthat express Bacillus lichenifonnis .alpha.-amylase), Elliot et al.,Plant Molec. Biol. 21:515 (1993) (nucleotide sequences of tomatoinvertase genes), SOgaard et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268:22480 (1993)(site-directed mutagenesis of barley .alpha.-amylase gene), and Fisheret al., Plant Physiol. 102:1045 (1993) (maize endosperm starch branchingenzyme II).

D. Elevated oleic acid via FAD-2 gene modification and/or decreasedlinolenic acid via FAD-3 gene modification. See U.S. Pat. Nos.6,063,947; 6,323,392; and international publication WO 93/11245.

4. Genes that Control Male Sterility

A. Introduction of a deacetylase gene under the control of atapetum-specific promoter and with the application of the chemicalN—Ac—PPT. See international publication WO 01/29237.

B. Introduction of various stamen-specific promoters. See internationalpublications WO 92/13956 and WO 92/13957.

C. Introduction of the barnase and the barstar genes. See Paul et al.,Plant Mol. Biol. 19:611-622, 1992).

Methods for Soybean Transformation

Numerous methods for plant transformation have been developed includingbiological and physical plant transformation protocols. See, forexample, Miki et al., “Procedures for Introducing Foreign DNA intoPlants” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Glick,B. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc. Boca Raton, 1993) pages67-88. In addition, expression vectors and in-vitro culture methods forplant cell or tissue transformation and regeneration of plants areavailable. See, for example, Gruber et al., “Vectors for PlantTransformation” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology,Glick, B. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton,1993) pages 89-119.

A. Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation—One method for introducing anexpression vector into plants is based on the natural transformationsystem of Agrobacterium. See, for example, Horsch et al., Science227:1229 (1985). A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes are plant pathogenicsoil bacteria which genetically transform plant cells. The Ti and Riplasmids of A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes, respectively, carry genesresponsible for genetic transformation of the plant. See, for example,Kado, C. I., Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 10:1 (1991). Descriptions ofAgrobacterium vector systems and methods for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer are provided by Gruber et al., supra, Miki et al., supra andMoloney et al., Plant Cell Reports 8:238 (1989). See also, U.S. Pat. No.5,563,055 (Townsend and Thomas), issued Oct. 8, 1996.

B. Direct Gene Transfer—Several methods of plant transformation,collectively referred to as direct gene transfer, have been developed asan alternative to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. A generallyapplicable method of plant transformation is microprojectile-mediatedtransformation where DNA is carried on the surface of microprojectilesmeasuring 1 to 4 .mu.m. The expression vector is introduced into planttissues with a biolistic device that accelerates the microprojectiles tospeeds of 300 to 600 m/s which is sufficient to penetrate plant cellwalls and membranes. Sanford et al., Part. Sci. Technol. 5:27 (1987);Sanford, J. C., Trends Biotech. 6:299 (1988); Klein et al., Bio/Tech.6:559-563 (1988); Sanford, J. C. Physiol Plant 7:206 (1990); Klein etal., Biotechnology 10:268 (1992). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,580(Christou, et al.), issued May 14, 1991 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,783(Tomes, et al.), issued Jun. 21, 1994.

Another method for physical delivery of DNA to plants is sonication oftarget cells. Zhang et al., Bio/Technology 9:996 (1991). Alternatively,liposome and spheroplast fusion have been used to introduce expressionvectors into plants. Deshayes et al., EMBO J., 4:2731 (1985); Christouet al., Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:3962 (1987). Direct uptake of DNAinto protoplasts using CaCl.sub.2 precipitation, polyvinyl alcohol orpoly-L-ornithine has also been reported. Hain et al., Mol. Gen. Genet.199:161 (1985) and Draper et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 23:451 (1982).Electroporation of protoplasts and whole cells and tissues have alsobeen described (Donn et al., In Abstracts of VIIth InternationalCongress on Plant Cell and Tissue Culture IAPTC, A2-38, p 53 (1990);D'Halluin et al., Plant Cell 4:1495-1505 (1992) and Spencer et al.,Plant Mol. Biol. 24:51-61 (1994)).

Following transformation of soybean target tissues, expression of theabove-described selectable marker genes allows for preferentialselection of transformed cells, tissues and/or plants, usingregeneration and selection methods well known in the art.

The foregoing methods for transformation would typically be used forproducing a transgenic variety. The transgenic variety could then becrossed with another (non-transformed or transformed) variety in orderto produce a new transgenic variety. Alternatively, a genetic trait thathas been engineered into a particular soybean line using the foregoingtransformation techniques could be moved into another line usingtraditional backcrossing techniques that are well known in the plantbreeding arts. For example, a backcrossing approach could be used tomove an engineered trait from a public, non-elite variety into an elitevariety, or from a variety containing a foreign gene in its genome intoa variety or varieties that do not contain that gene. As used herein,“crossing” can refer to a simple X by Y cross or the process ofbackcrossing depending on the context.

Single-Gene Conversions

When the term “soybean plant” is used in the context of the presentinvention, this also includes any single gene conversions of thatvariety. The term single gene converted plant as used herein refers tothose soybean plants which are developed by a plant breeding techniquecalled backcrossing wherein essentially all of the desired morphologicaland physiological characteristics of a variety are recovered in additionto the single gene transferred into the variety via the backcrossingtechnique. Backcrossing methods can be used with the present inventionto improve or introduce a characteristic into the variety. The term“backcrossing” as used herein refers to the repeated crossing of ahybrid progeny back to the recurrent parent, i.e., backcrossing 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or more times to the recurrent parent. The parentalsoybean plant that contributes the gene for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental soybean plant towhich the gene or genes from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol (Poehlman & Sleper, 1994; Fehr, 1987). In atypical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest (recurrentparent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent) thatcarries the single gene of interest to be transferred. The resultingprogeny from this cross are then crossed again to the recurrent parentand the process is repeated until a soybean plant is obtained whereinessentially all of the desired morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred gene from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single gene of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired gene from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphological,constitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some agronomically important trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered to determine an appropriate testing protocol.Although backcrossing methods are simplified when the characteristicbeing transferred is a dominant allele, a recessive allele may also betransferred. In this instance it may be necessary to introduce a test ofthe progeny to determine if the desired characteristic has beensuccessfully transferred.

Many single gene traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new variety but that can beimproved by backcrossing techniques. Single gene traits may or may notbe transgenic; examples of these traits include but are not limited to,male sterility, waxy starch, herbicide resistance, resistance forbacterial, fungal, or viral disease, insect resistance, male fertility,enhanced nutritional quality, industrial usage, yield stability andyield enhancement. These genes are generally inherited through thenucleus. Several of these single gene traits are described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,959,185; 5,973,234 and 5,977,445; the disclosures of which arespecifically hereby incorporated by reference.

Tissue Culture

Further reproduction of the variety can occur by tissue culture andregeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of soybeans andregeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published. Forexample, reference may be had to Komatsuda, T. et al., Crop Sci.31:333-337 (1991); Stephens, P. A., et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. (1991)82:633-635; Komatsuda, T. et al., Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture,28:103-113 (1992); Dhir, S. et al., Plant Cell Reports (1992)11:285-289; Pandey, P. et al., Japan J. Breed. 42:1-5 (1992); andShetty, K., et al., Plant Science 81:245-251 (1992); as well as U.S.Pat. No. 5,024,944 issued Jun. 18, 1991 to Collins et al., and U.S. Pat.No. 5,008,200 issued Apr. 16, 1991 to Ranch et al. Thus, another aspectof this invention is to provide cells which upon growth anddifferentiation produce soybean plants having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of soybean variety DLL1344.

As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a compositioncomprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or acollection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Exemplarytypes of tissue cultures are protoplasts, calli, plant clumps, and plantcells that can generate tissue culture that are intact in plants orparts of plants, such as embryos, pollen, flowers, seeds, pods, leaves,stems, roots, root tips, anthers, pistils, and the like. Means forpreparing and maintaining plant tissue culture are well known in theart. By way of example, a tissue culture comprising organs has been usedto produce regenerated plants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,959,185; 5,973,234 and5,977,445 describe certain techniques, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Additional Breeding Methods

This invention also is directed to methods for producing a soybean plantby crossing a first parent soybean plant with a second parent soybeanplant wherein the first or second parent soybean plant is a soybeanplant of soybean variety DLL1344. Further, both first and second parentsoybean plants can come from the soybean variety DLL1344. Thus, any suchmethods using soybean variety DLL1344 are part of this invention:selfing, backcrosses, hybrid production, crosses to populations, and thelike. All plants produced using soybean variety DLL1344 as at least oneparent are within the scope of this invention, including those developedfrom varietys derived from soybean variety DLL1344. Advantageously, thesoybean variety could be used in crosses with other, different, soybeanplants to produce the first generation (F1) soybean hybrid seeds andplants with superior characteristics. The variety of the invention canalso be used for transformation where exogenous genes are introduced andexpressed by the variety of the invention. Genetic variants createdeither through traditional breeding methods using soybean varietyDLL1344 or through transformation of soybean variety DLL1344 by any of anumber of protocols known to those of skill in the art are intended tobe within the scope of this invention.

The following describes breeding methods that may be used with soybeanvariety DLL1344 in the development of further soybean plants. One suchembodiment is a method for developing a soybean variety DLL1344 progenysoybean plant in a soybean plant breeding program comprising: obtainingthe soybean plant, or a part thereof, of variety DLL1344 utilizing saidplant or plant part as a source of breeding material and selecting asoybean variety DLL1344 progeny plant with molecular markers in commonwith variety DLL1344 and/or with morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics selected from the characteristics listed in Table 1.Breeding steps that may be used in the soybean plant breeding programinclude pedigree breeding, backcrossing, mutation breeding, andrecurrent selection. In conjunction with these steps, techniques such asRFLP-enhanced selection, genetic marker enhanced selection (for exampleSSR markers) and the making of double haploids may be utilized.

Another method involves producing a population of soybean varietyDLL1344 progeny soybean plants, comprising crossing variety DLL1344 withanother soybean plant, thereby producing a population of soybean plants,which, on average, derive 50% of their alleles from soybean varietyDLL1344. A plant of this population may be selected and repeatedlyselfed or sibbed with a soybean variety resulting from these successivefilial generations. One embodiment of this invention is the soybeanvariety produced by this method and that has obtained at least 50% ofits alleles from soybean variety DLL1344.

One of ordinary skill in the art of plant breeding would know how toevaluate the traits of two varietys to determine if there is nosignificant difference between the two traits expressed by thosevarietys. For example, see Fehr and Walt, Principles of VarietyDevelopment, p 261-286 (1987). Thus the invention includes soybeanvariety DLL1344 progeny soybean plants comprising a combination of atleast two variety DLL1344 traits selected from the group consisting ofthose listed in Table 1 or the variety DLL1344 combination of traitslisted in the Summary of the Invention, so that said progeny soybeanplant is not significantly different for said traits than soybeanvariety DLL1344 as determined at the 5% significance level when grown inthe same environmental conditions. Using techniques described herein,molecular markers may be used to identify said progeny plant as asoybean variety DLL1344 progeny plant. Mean trait values may be used todetermine whether trait differences are significant, and preferably thetraits are measured on plants grown under the same environmentalconditions. Once such a variety is developed its value is substantialsince it is important to advance the germplasm base as a whole in orderto maintain or improve traits such as yield, disease resistance, pestresistance, and plant performance in extreme environmental conditions.

Progeny of soybean variety DLL1344 may also be characterized throughtheir filial relationship with soybean variety DLL1344, as for example,being within a certain number of breeding crosses of soybean varietyDLL1344. A breeding cross is a cross made to introduce new genetics intothe progeny, and is distinguished from a cross, such as a self or a sibcross, made to select among existing genetic alleles. The lower thenumber of breeding crosses in the pedigree, the closer the relationshipbetween soybean variety DLL1344 and its progeny. For example, progenyproduced by the methods described herein may be within 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5breeding crosses of soybean variety DLL1344.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes plant cells, plantprotoplasts, plant cell tissue cultures from which soybean plants can beregenerated, plant calli, plant clumps, and plant cells that are intactin plants or parts of plants, such as embryos, pollen, ovules, flowers,pods, leaves, roots, root tips, anthers, cotyledons, hypocotyls, stems,pistils, petiole, and the like.

Industrial Uses

The seed of soybean variety DLL1344, the plant produced from the seed,the hybrid soybean plant produced from the crossing of the variety withany other soybean plant, hybrid seed, and various parts of the hybridsoybean plant can be utilized for human food, livestock feed, and as araw material in industry.

The soybean is the world's leading source of vegetable oil and proteinmeal. The oil extracted from soybeans is used for cooking oil,margarine, and salad dressings. Soybean oil is composed of saturated,monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It has a typicalcomposition of 11% palmitic, 4% stearic, 25% oleic, 50% linoleic and 9%linolenic fatty acid content (“Economic Implications of Modified SoybeanTraits Summary Report”, Iowa Soybean Promotion Board and AmericanSoybean Association Special Report 92S, May 1990). Changes in fatty acidcomposition for improved oxidative stability and nutrition areconstantly sought after. Industrial uses of soybean oil which issubjected to further processing include ingredients for paints,plastics, fibers, detergents, cosmetics, lubricants and biodiesel fuel.Soybean oil may be split, inter-esterified, sulfurized, epoxidized,polymerized, ethoxylated, or cleaved. Designing and producing soybeanoil derivatives with improved functionality and improved oliochemistryis a rapidly growing field. The typical mixture of triglycerides isusually split and separated into pure fatty acids, which are thencombined with petroleum-derived alcohols or acids, nitrogen, sulfonates,chlorine, or with fatty alcohols derived from fats and oils.

Soybean is also used as a food source for both animals and humans.Soybean is widely used as a source of protein for animal feeds forpoultry, swine and cattle. During processing of whole soybeans, thefibrous hull is removed and the oil is extracted. The remaining soybeanmeal is a combination of carbohydrates and approximately 50% protein.

For human consumption soybean meal is made into soybean flour which isprocessed to protein concentrates used for meat extenders or specialtypet foods. Production of edible protein ingredients from soybean offersa healthier, less expensive replacement for animal protein in meats aswell as in dairy-type products.

Deposit Information

Applicant made a deposit of at least 2500 seeds of soybean varietyDLL1344 disclosed herein with the American Type Culture Collection(ATCC), 10801 University Blvd, Manassas, Va under Accession No.PTA-121575. Seed of the soybean variety DLL1344 is located at 210 DrierRoad, De Witt, Ark. 72042. The lot number for this seed material isDLL1344_DW2012. The seeds were deposited with the ATCC on Sep. 9, 2014.Access to this deposit will be available during the pendency of theapplication to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and personsdetermined by the Commissioner to be entitled thereto upon request. Thedeposit will be maintained for a period of 30 years, or 5 years afterthe most recent request, or for the enforceable life of the patent,whichever is longer, and will be replaced if it becomes nonviable duringthat period. Applicant does not waive any rights granted under thispatent or under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2321 etseq.).

Definitions

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used.In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele. An allele is any of one or more alternative forms of a genewhich relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cell ororganism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding loci on apair of homologous chromosomes.

Appearance. A visual observation rating based on a scale of 1-9 as tothe varieties overall appearance as far as adaptability, plant height,lodging, plant health, etc., at the time of rating as one would want itto look to be an excellent variety. A value of 1 indicates a very poorand not adapted variety while a value of 9 indicates a very nice,awesome looking variety with a lot of pods and perceived yield from avisual observation.

Backcrossing. Backcrossing is a process in which a breeder repeatedlycrosses hybrid progeny back to one of the parents, for example, a firstgeneration hybrid F.sub.1 with one of the parental genotypes of theF.sub.1 hybrid.

Bacterial Pustule: Rated on a scale from 1 to 9 with 1 indicating nobacterial pustule found in the rated plot and a value of 9 indicatingall plants with infection by bacterial Pustule in the rated plot.

Brown Stem Rot. This is a visual disease score from 1 to 9 comparing allgenotypes in a given test. The score is based on leaf symptoms ofyellowing and necrosis caused by brown stem rot. Visual scores rangefrom a score of 9, which indicates no symptoms, to a score of 1 whichindicates severe symptoms of leaf yellowing and necrosis.

Cotyledon. A cotyledon is a type of seed leaf. The cotyledon containsthe food storage tissues of the seed.

Embryo. The embryo is the small plant contained within a mature seed.

Emergence. This score indicates the ability of the seed to emerge whenplanted 3″ deep in sand at a controlled temperature of 25 .degree. C.The number of plants that emerge each day are counted. Based on thisdata, each genotype is given a 1 to 9 score based on its rate ofemergence and percent of emergence. A score of 9 indicates an excellentrate and percent of emergence, an intermediate score of 5 indicatesaverage ratings and a 1 score indicates a very poor rate and percent ofemergence.

Frogeye Leaf Spot (fels). Primarily a foliar disease of soybean causedby the fungus Cercospora sojina. Lesions on leaves are circular toangular spots which vary in size (less than 1 mm to 5 mm in diameter).The lesions are gray to brown spots surrounded by a narrow red or darkreddish-brown margin. The disease can be seedborne. The rating scale isfrom 1 to 9 with 1 indicating no Frogeye present and 9 indicating theleaf is entirely covered and the leaves are dropping off the plant (andpods also), very bad.

Hilum. This refers to the scar left on the seed that marks the placewhere the seed was attached to the pod prior to the seed beingharvested.

Hypocotyl. A hypocotyl is the portion of an embryo or seedling betweenthe cotyledons and the root. Therefore, it can be considered atransition zone between shoot and root.

Iron Chlorosis on Calcareous Soil. When conducting a test for salt oruptake of salt, there are three reactions: a) Excluder: The plant takesup the salt but it is not translocated up through the plant to theleaves and the plant will survive normally in the presence of high saltin the soil. b) Includer: The plants translocate the salt up through thevascular pathways to the leaves resulting in scorching of the leaves andlater death and defoliation. c) Segregater: Some plants are Excludersand some plants are Includers. This variety segregates for the charater.

Iron-Deficiency Chlorosis. Plants are scored 1 to 9 based on visualobservations. A score of 9 means no stunting of the plants or yellowingof the leaves and a score of 1 indicates the plants are dead or dyingcaused by iron-deficiency chlorosis, a score of 5 means plants haveintermediate health with some leaf yellowing.

Lodging Resistance. Lodging is rated on a scale of 1 to 5. A score of 1indicates that almost all plants are erect and standing up. A score of 2indicates all plants are leaning slightly or a few plants are lying onthe ground. A score of 3 indicates all plants leaning moderately and/orseveral plants lying on the ground. A score of 4 indicates all plantsleaning considerably and/or a lot of plants lying on the ground and ascore of 5 indicates all plants lying on the ground.

Maturity Date. Plants are considered mature when 95% of the pods havereached their mature color. The number of days are calculated from theplanting date.

Maturity Group. This refers to an agreed-on industry division of groupsof varieties based on zones in which they are adapted, primarilyaccording to day length or latitude. They consist of very long daylength varieties (Groups 000, 00, 0), and extend to very short daylength varieties (Groups VII, VIII, IX, X).

Multi-yield. Average yield across all the locations of the varieties inthe trial.

Relative Maturity (RM). The term relative maturity is a numerical valuethat is assigned to a soybean variety based on comparisons with thematurity values of other varieties. The number preceding the decimalpoint in the RM refers to the maturity group. The number following thedecimal point refers to the relative earliness or lateness within eachmaturity group. For example, a 3.0 is an early group III variety, whilea 3.9 is a late group III variety.

Oil or oil percent. Soybean seeds contain a considerable amount of oil.Oil is measured by NIR spectrophotometry, and is reported on an as ispercentage basis.

Oleic Acid Percent. Oleic acid is one of the five most abundant fattyacids in soybean seeds. It is measured by gas chromatography and isreported as a percent of the total oil content.

Palmitic Acid Percent. Palmitic acid is one of the five most abundantfatty acids in soybean seeds. It is measured by gas chromatography andis reported as a percent of the total oil content.

Phytophthora Root Rot (Prr). Phytophthora root rot is rated on a scaleof 0 to 9, with a score of 0 being the best or highest tolerance (nodead plants) ranging to a score of 9 which indicates the plants have notolerance to Phytophthora and are dead.

Phenotypic Score. The Phenotypic Score is a visual rating of generalappearance of the variety. All visual traits are considered in the scoreincluding healthiness, standability, appearance and freedom fromdisease. Ratings are scored from 1 being poor to 9 being excellent.

Plant Height. Average length in inches of mature plants from the groundto the tip of the main stem.

Pod. This refers to the fruit of a soybean plant. It consists of thehull or shell (pericarp) and the soybean seeds.

Pod and Stem Blight. Also known as Diaporthe phaseolorum var. sojae. Podand Stem Blight results in poor seed quality and has symptoms of anarrangement of black fruiting structures in linear rows on the stems.Infected seeds crack and shrivel and are often covered with white mold.These seeds fail to germinate, or produce weak seedlings withbrownish-red pinpoint lesions on the cotyledons.

Protein Percent. Soybean seeds contain a considerable amount of protein.Protein is generally measured by NIR spectrophotometry and is reportedon an as is percentage basis.

Pubescence. This refers to a covering of very fine hairs closelyarranged on the leaves, stems and pods of the soybean plant.

Purple Seed Stain. Also known as Cercospora kikuchii. A fungus thatcauses a pink or light to dark purple discoloration of the mature seedcoat. The size of the discoloration may vary from a small spot to theentire seed surface. Affected seed may be cracked, rough and dull.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration. Regeneration refers to the development of a plant fromtissue culture.

Seed Protein Peroxidase Activity. Seed protein peroxidase activityrefers to a chemical taxonomic technique to separate varieties based onthe presence or absence of the peroxidase enzyme in the seed coat. Thereare two types of soybean varieties: those having high peroxidaseactivity (dark red color) and those having low peroxidase activity (nocolor).

Seed Yield (Bushels/Acre). The yield in bushels/acre is the actual yieldof the grain at harvest.

Seeds per Pound. Soybean seeds vary in seed size, therefore, the numberof seeds required to make up one pound also varies. This affects thepounds of seed required to plant a given area and can also impact enduses.

Shattering. The amount of pod dehiscence prior to harvest. Poddehiscence involves seeds falling from the pods to the soil. This is avisual score from 1 to 9 comparing all genotypes within a given test. Ascore of 9 means pods have not opened and no seeds have fallen out. Ascore of 5 indicates approximately 50% of the pods have opened, withseeds falling to the ground and a score of 1 indicates 100% of the podsare opened.

Single Gene Converted (Conversion). Single gene converted (conversion)plants refers to plants which are developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing wherein essentially all of the desiredmorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique or via genetic engineering.

Southern Root Knot Nematode. Also known as Meloidogyne incognita. One ofthe most common nematode pest of soybeans in the southern states.Symptoms include severe stunting and formation of galls or knots on theroots. Also, plants may appear to suffer nutrient deficiencies and maywilt during hot periods of the day. Nematode damage reduces yield andlowers quality.

Soybean Mosaic Virus. Soybean mosaic virus is the most widelydistributed virus diseases of soybeans. The leaves of infected plantsare distorted and narrower than normal, and develop dark green swellingsalong the veins. Infected leaflets are puckered and curl down at themargin. Plants infected warly in the season are stunted, with shortenedpetioles and internodes. Diseased seed pods are often smaller,flattened, less pubescence, and curved more acutely than pods of healthyplants. In addition, infected seed are mottled brown or black, usuallysmaller than seeds from healthy plants, and germination may be reduced.

Stem Canker (sc). Caused by D. phaseolorum var. meridionalis. The firstsymptoms occur during the early reproductive stages as small, reddishbrown lesions, usually near a lower leaf node. As the season progresses,the lesions expand longitudinally to form cankers which are slightlysunken. The stem lesions become long and the leaf symptoms develop withcharacteristic interveinal chlorosis and necrosis, but no wilting.Foliar symptoms and plant death are caused in part by a phytotoxin.Rated “resistant” or “susceptible” if from disease in nursery. If fromfield observations it is rated on a scale from 0 to 9, where a value of0 indicates no stem canker and a value of 9 indicates plants are dead.

Sudden Death Syndrome (sds). Caused by the soilborne fungus, Fusariumsolani f. sp. glycines. The symptoms first appear on leaves asscattered, interveinal chlorotic spots, which may become necrotic orenlarge and form streaks. Leaflets detach from the petioles. Theroot-mass of infected plants are reduced and discolored and precedefoliar symptoms. The infected plants often have increased flower and podabortion and reduced seed size. Rated on a scale from 1 to 9 with 1indicating no symptoms and 9 indicating plants dying or dead.

Virus. Rated on a scale from 1 to 9 with 1 indicating no virus noted orfound in the plot rated and 9 indicating all plants affected in the plotrated.

Wildfire. A type of bacterial leaf blight also known as Pseudomonastabaci. The symptoms of Wildfire include light brown spots of variablesize and shape, which are surrounded by a broad yellow halo. Smallerdark brown to black lesions sometimes form without the halo. During wetweather, the lesions expand to form large dead areas that eventuallytear away resulting in a tattered appearance.

That which is claimed:
 1. A seed of soybean variety DLL1344,representative sample seed of said variety is deposited under ATCCAccession No. PTA-121575.
 2. A soybean plant, or a part thereof,produced by growing the seed of claim
 1. 3. A tissue culture producedfrom protoplasts or cells from the plant of claim 2, wherein said cellsor protoplasts are produced from a plant part selected from the groupconsisting of leaf, pollen, ovule, embryo, cotyledon, hypocotyl,meristematic cell, root, root tip, pistil, anther, flower, seed, shoot,stem, pod and petiole.
 4. A soybean plant regenerated from the tissueculture of claim 3, wherein said soybean plant has all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the plant of claim 2.5. A method for producing a soybean seed, comprising crossing twosoybean plants and harvesting the resultant soybean seed, wherein atleast one soybean plant is the soybean plant of claim
 2. 6. A soybeanseed produced by the method of claim
 5. 7. A soybean plant, or a partthereof, produced by growing said seed of claim
 6. 8. The method ofclaim 5, wherein at least one of said soybean plants further comprisesat least one transgene.
 9. A method of producing an herbicide resistantsoybean plant, wherein said method comprises introducing a geneconferring herbicide resistance into the plant of claim
 2. 10. Aherbicide resistant soybean plant produced by the method of claim 9,wherein the gene confers resistance to a herbicide selected from thegroup consisting of glyphosate, sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, dicamba,glufosinate, phenoxy proprionic acid, L-phosphinothricin, cyclohexone,cyclohexanedione, triazine, benzonitrile, an N-(tetrazol-4-yl)- orN-(triazol-3-yl)arylcarboxamide, an N-(1,2,5-oxadiazol-3-yl)benzamide,tembotrione, sulcotrione, topramezone, bicyclopyrone, tefuryltrione,isoxaflutole, pyrasulfotole, and mesotrione.
 11. A method of producing apest or insect resistant soybean plant, wherein said method comprisesintroducing a gene conferring pest or insect resistance into the soybeanplant of claim
 2. 12. A pest or insect resistant soybean plant producedby the method of claim
 11. 13. The soybean plant of claim 12, whereinthe gene encodes a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxin.
 14. A methodof producing a disease resistant soybean plant, wherein said methodcomprises introducing a gene which confers disease resistance into thesoybean plant of claim
 2. 15. A disease resistant soybean plant producedby the method of claim
 14. 16. A method of producing a soybean plantwith modified fatty acid metabolism or modified carbohydrate metabolism,wherein the method comprises introducing a gene encoding a proteinselected from the group consisting of phytase, fructosyltransferase,levansucrase, α-amylase, invertase and starch branching enzyme orencoding an antisense of stearyl-ACP desaturase into the soybean plantof claim
 2. 17. A soybean plant having modified fatty acid metabolism ormodified carbohydrate metabolism produced by the method of claim
 16. 18.A method of introducing a desired trait into soybean variety DLL1344,wherein the method comprises: (a) crossing a DLL1344 plant, wherein arepresentative sample of seed is deposited under ATCC Accession No.PTA-121575, with a plant of another soybean variety that comprises adesired trait to produce progeny plants wherein the desired trait isselected from the group consisting of male sterility, herbicideresistance, insect resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism, modified seed yield, modified oil percent,modified protein percent, modified lodging resistance, modifiedshattering, modified iron-deficiency chlorosis and resistance tobacterial disease, fungal disease or viral disease; (b) selecting one ormore progeny plants that have the desired trait to produce selectedprogeny plants; (c) crossing the selected progeny plants with theDLL1344 plant to produce backcross progeny plants; (d) selecting forbackcross progeny plants that have the desired trait and all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of soybean varietyDLL1344 listed in Table 1; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) two ormore times in succession to produce selected third or higher backcrossprogeny plants that comprise the desired trait and all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of soybean varietyDLL1344 listed in Table
 1. 19. A soybean plant produced by the method ofclaim 18, wherein the plant has the desired trait.
 20. The soybean plantof claim 19, wherein the desired trait is herbicide resistance and theresistance is conferred to an herbicide selected from the groupconsisting of glyphosate, sulfonylurea, imidazolinone, dicamba,glufosinate, phenoxy proprionic acid, L-phosphinothricin, cyclohexone,cyclohexanedione, triazine, benzonitrile, an N-(tetrazol-4-yl)- orN-(triazol-3-yl)arylcarboxamide, an N-(1,2,5-oxadiazol-3-yl)benzamide,tembotrione, sulcotrione, topramezone, bicyclopyrone, tefuryltrione,isoxaflutole, pyrasulfotole, and mesotrione.
 21. The soybean plant ofclaim 19, wherein the desired trait is insect resistance and the insectresistance is conferred by a gene encoding a Bacillus thuringiensisendotoxin.
 22. The soybean plant of claim 19, wherein the desired traitis modified fatty acid metabolism or modified carbohydrate metabolismand said desired trait is conferred by a nucleic acid encoding a proteinselected from the group consisting of phytase, fructosyltransferase,levansucrase, α-amylase, invertase and starch branching enzyme orencoding an antisense of stearyl-ACP desaturase.
 23. A method ofproducing a commodity plant product, comprising obtaining the plant ofclaim 2, or a part thereof, wherein the commodity plant product isprotein concentrate, protein isolate, soybean hulls, meal, flour, or oiland producing said commodity plant product therefrom.
 24. A plant, or apart thereof, obtained by vegetative reproduction from the plant, or apart thereof, of claim 2, said plant, or a part thereof, expressing allthe physiological and morphological characteristics of soybean varietyDLL1344.
 25. A plant, or a part thereof, obtained by vegetativereproduction from the plant, or a part thereof, of claim 7, said plant,or a part thereof, expressing all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of soybean variety DLL1344.